Music Review: ‘Badhaai Ho’

The music release of ‘Badhaai Ho’ is perfect in the lead up to the wedding season in India as the music is all about the fun and celebrations of different moments within that.

BizAsia Rating

4

Amit Ravindernath Sharma’s second directorial project ‘Badhaai Ho’ (2018) releasing soon is a comedy for a coming-of-age Indian middle class. Starring Ayushmann Khurrana who is on a big high with back to back releases is stuck in an awkward situation where his mom is expecting while he is hoping to get married to his girlfriend. There seems to be a lot of cheeky fun with Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao and Dangal (2017) girl Sanya Malhotra getting her big leading role and her first chance to dance in a movie. The Delhi Punjabi music vibes are already creating some waves around with some really well executed songs under Sharma’s direction. The soundtrack is a composite album with multiple artists working on the music and lyrics. Tanishk Bagchi, Jam8, Rochak Kohli, Kumaar, Vayu, are some of the names on the album.

The title song Badhaaiyan Tenu is just the perfect introduction to the movie. It is a cheeky, fun, naughty and with a perfect Punjabi tadka to it. Tanishk Bagchi is behind the music of this song and his use of Dhol, tumbi, dholki, harmonium are exceptionally well balanced with an urban beat style giving it a really cool Delhi-vibe. The music itself gives the song a bit of cheek with a use of harmonium and dholki coming in and going out for the fun effect. He even throws in dramatic Bollywood dialogues to amplify the comic effect. The overall arrangement is just really good making it very catchy & addictive as a song. Lyrics by Vayu are just a laugh riot and Brijesh Shandilya’s vocal delivery is perfect adding a lot more fun to it along with the typical north Indian accent and character. Vocals by Romy & Jordan and the background chorus of constant Badhaaiyan Tenu are super engaging that will make this song a must play at every baby shower function around the country.

Bagchi takes on Panjabi MC next with the wedding party track Morni Banke next. The original Punjabi version is still a must play at weddings and Punjabi parties but this one has a whole new musicality and class to. Bagchi is the current king of making party hits and especially those with a Punjabi touch and this is a big one! He has taken the urban out of Panjabi MC’s version and made this a lot more traditional Punjabi that makes it sound a lot more authentic than the original. The instrumentation is typical with Dhols, tumbis & more giving it a deep whole sound. The Punjabi effect goes to the next level with his choice of singers Guru Randhawa and Neha Kakkar who deliver to what is expected of them with lot of vocal styling and effects. There is energy, attitude and performance element to the song overall that helps deliver a well-executed music video too. Lyrics by MellowD are quite amazing and as good as one would here in a traditional Punjabi song rather than a Bollywood redo. Keeping it fully Punjabi but using simple rhymes and words makes the song accessible to the masses to sing along to which is a very important characteristic to have to have a hit number. Overall this song is an easy winner and one of the best remakes of recent times that will take over every wedding function being played on repeat. Must listen!

Music of Rochak Kohli and lyrics of Kumaar come together next for Nain Na Jodeen. A sad romantic song that has good things going for it overall with some really good lyrics, easy listening instrumentation and gorgeous vocals by Ayushmann Khurrana & Neha Kakkar. The warmth in the vocals brings the emotions of the song out quite strongly although they lack some more depth & range. The beauty of how the singers take it from traditional Punjabi to Hindi & back has nicely been done. Kohli keeps the music very simple but melodious. The use of soft ambient instruments sitar, sarangi, tabla, soft dholki make this nice number to listen to. The top aspect of the song are Kumaar’s lyrics that have a lot of meaning in a beautiful rhyme. A good song overall that will subdue the happiest of the people if heard on repeat.

Sajan Bade Senti is the work of Pritam’s Jam8 group of composers, Kaushik, Akash & Guddu (KAG) specifically. A wedding tease song that is romantic and fun at the same time it has a wicked chorus Uf Of ho that goes on a repeat reminding one of the typical dramatic things one would hear in a classic Delhi conversation. Musically one has to listen to the song closely to hear a big number of vocal samples and interesting notes dropped in here with a good use of traditional instruments. The pace of the song is quite addictive and the Punjabi elements make this an easy one to dance to without having to make an effort. Vayu’s lyrics have a nice flow and the romantic tease moments are quite well captured. Dev Negi delivers his usual great vocal style for such songs with the excitement coming through well. Harjot Kaur on the female lead is a great find with some deep tonality to her vocals while keeping them light and fluffy with the mood of the song. A good song for a wedding song sequence yet again.

FINAL WORD
The timing for the music release of ‘Badhaai Ho’ is perfect in the lead up to the wedding season in India as the music is all about the fun and celebrations of different moments within that. There is an engagement song, a couple’s fun dance song and even a song for baby showers going with the theme of the film. Even with different music directors & lyricists on the album director Amit Sharma has done well to reign in the Delhi theme well with a good amount of Punjabi element to the album. That in itself is perhaps responsible for half of all the melodic fun on this soundtrack. Tanishk Bagchi delivers the biggest song of the wedding season Morni Banke & Badhaaiyan Tenu that are traditional and urban at the same time which is a great mix to help the songs to climb the charts around the world. Rochak Kohli and Jam8 deliver perfectly good songs too with Nain Na Jodeen & Sajan Bade Senti. MellowD’s work on the lyrics of Morni Banke is mention worthy amongst others while Vayu & Kumaar deliver some good writing too. Vocally the album has some good talent with Guru Randhawa, Brijesh Shandilya Dev Negi, Neha Kakkar, Harjor Kaur and even Ayushmann Khurrana delivering strong vocals on their respective songs. The problem of the album is its lack of variety with a sad romantic bringing the only variety to the album’s monotonous wedding party sound. But what the album does deliver it delivers well staying true to its character and film theme. For Punjabi music lovers, this is the album to listen to!